Maggie Kuebler fought through pain as she wielded heavy power tools to free victims trapped in a mock vehicle accident, one of the many tests she underwent to become a volunteer firefighter.
Her 5-foot-7, 150-pound frame shook with exhaustion, but she refused to quit. She knew that some day she could face real life-or-death situations, just as her father, a former Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police officer whose life of service she wanted to emulate, had.
Ms. Kuebler, 20, is among a growing number of women climbing tall aerial ladders or rescuing people from smoky rooms as members of New York State’s volunteer fire companies, which serve millions of residents in small towns and suburban communities that cannot afford paid professional departments.
“You just keep telling yourself, ‘I have to get this person out, I have to get the job done,’ ” said Ms. Kuebler, a volunteer with the Walton Fire Department in rural Delaware County.
Increasingly, fire officials believe they can.
This weekend, about 500 of the state’s 1,583 volunteer fire companies are hosting recruitment open houses. One of the main goals is to attract more women.